Medal of Peace

As an actor, producer and film director, Forest Whitaker has excelled in film and television highlighting important issues of our time. He's been globally recognized for his commitment to peace and justice, and launched the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative in 2012. He's also been appointed to peacebuilding and advocacy roles by UNESCO and the United Nations.

In his role as the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso advocates the cultivation of warmheartedness and human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline. Furthermore, the Dalai Lama has been outspoken on a commitment to democracy and peace, and the intimate connection between democratic values and the fundamental values of human goodness.

American diplomat Christopher Hill was nominated and appointed to serve under three presidents. Prior to serving as ambassador to Iraq, Hill served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, during which he was also the head of the U.S. delegation in six-party talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Kenneth Hackett is a former United States Ambassador to the Holy See. Previously president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), he began his career at CRS following Peace Corps service in Ghana. While at CRS, he served throughout Asia and Africa, and was a leader in the response to the 1984-1985 Ethiopian famine and crisis in Somalia in the early 1990s.

Actor and activist Martin Sheen has long been recognized as an outspoken social justice advocate. He actively promotes the principles of Catholic social thought, in word and in action. For more than four decades, he has been an ardent supporter of causes that advocate peace and encourage justice throughout the world.